Rio Olympics 2016: Unpaid Utility Bills Leave Track and Field Stadium Without Power
Rio Olympics 2016 is fast approaching but issues with the venues that will be used for the games are coming up one by one. Most notably, the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange which has been assigned for the track and field and soccer events has no electricity and water supply because the services were cut off due to unpaid bills.
It was revealed that the stadium's main utilities have stopped working for about a week now, according to Sky News. The reason cited for the unsettled accounts was the disagreement of officials regarding the structure's repairs and bills.
The amount needed to be settled already reached $225,000 or €207,000 so the officials have set an urgent meeting that was scheduled for tomorrow. The administrative unit will convene to find solutions since they are running out of time for the Rio Olympics is just a few months away.
The Voice UK publication also reported that the issue was not resolved earlier because of the Christmas and New Year holidays. Most of the officials are off from work so it was impossible to meet at that time.
"We have to look at who is responsible for the unpaid bills and will have an answer on Monday," the President of Botafogo football club Carlos Eduardo Pereira stated.
Pereira has a say in this matter because it was the Botafogo soccer club that was paying for the stadium's bills in the past. The club only stopped taking the responsibility after the Brazilian government took over the management as the country prepares for the Olympiad.
Moreover, aside from the administrative issues, another likely reason for the non-payment of utilities is Brazil's recession. The country is reeling from it's worst economic decline which was attributed to the growing corruption in the government, ESPN has learned.
In fact, the organizers of the upcoming world sports event already trimmed the operating costs by $500 million to keep the over-all budget at $1.9 billion only.
The slashed amount resulted to bringing down the number of volunteers since each one has to receive uniforms, meals and transportation fees. The organizers are not covering the volunteers' housing either. In addition, the number of venues for the test events was also reduced to save on expenditures.
With the endless issues relating to the Olympiad, the head of the Rio 2016 Olympics Carlos Nuzman admitted that the current political and economic crisis in Brazil further makes the preparations harder and more challenging.
Meanwhile, the Rio Games will open on Aug. 5 at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
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